When my husband and I decided to downsize from our home to a condo, I knew I had a heavy task ahead of me.
Sorting through 30 years of 'stuff' took a year of evenings but I got a good head start before we even purchased our new place. I boxed up tons of stuff and priced it for a yard sale and stored it in the attic in anticipation of the big move. I was proud of myself for being so thorough and for thinking ahead.
As the move got closer we started packing the rest of our stuff to move. To my surprise there were still tons of boxes to be moved and I had a heck of a time finding room for the leftover 'stuff' from my previous purge.
It took a few months of resorting to pair down, yet again, the amount of things we had accumulated. Point being, it's hard to get rid of your stuff! Sometimes it takes several attempts until you find the right balance.
On the bright side, we can breathe easier now that closets aren't full to overflowing and our decor remains light and airy. I had to use my ingenuity to solve some storage problems and I thought I'd share some ideas with you in case you're in the same situation.
Whether you're moving or not, de-cluttering is a great way to find more space, free up your time and open up your decor. You might even make a few bucks selling some of the things you don't need any longer.
Plan ahead
As I mentioned above, I started purging our stuff a year or more before we purchased our new condo. I knew the move was imminent so I decided to get a head start on the project.
If you're planning to downsize, retire, move or just want a change within the next few years, use the down time over the winter to start sorting through drawers and cupboards in anticipation for the change. You'll be surprised at how liberating de-cluttering can be.
Sell, donate or give away your unwanted items. Use the Internet to sell larger items and price smaller items and box them up for a spring yard/garage sale.
We had several bulky, heavy photo albums that we moved with us but I was having a hard time finding room to store them in our new place. I decided to remove the photos from the dated albums and store them in a decorative photo box. We went from having two large boxes of photo albums to one medium-sized container. This was a great solution to keeping important items but in a more compact way. I supposed if one had time they could scan all of the photos and store them electronically as well, which would free up even more space. I prefer the old-fashioned paper photograph and I'm happy with my solution. Sorting through old photo albums was more enjoyable than I thought. It ended up being a trip down memory lane rather than the chore it started out to be.
We also had dozens of framed photographs that once hung in our home. We went in a new direction with our decor in our condo and I found myself fretting about what to do with all of these treasured framed pictures. Again, I decided to remove the photos from the frames and store them in the photo box. I donated all of the picture frames to the thrift store and solved yet another clutter problem. Some photographs made it into new collage frames, which are in keeping with our new decor style.
Get rid of duplicates
The large drawers in my new IKEA kitchen were overflowing after the move. Once again, we had to pair down the cooking utensils to a reasonable number. I no longer have counter space on which to house a utensil holder so the drawer was the only solution. Did I really need six wooden spoons and three ladles? Another purge sent yet another bag of goodies to the thrift store and helped de-clutter my small kitchen.
Don't be a clothes horse
If you haven't worn it in the last year, get rid of it. Try stuff on to see if it even fits any longer and decommission anything with large shoulder pads and oversized buttons! They went out in the 1990s. Once you're done you'll be able to see your clothes and find items with ease rather than trying to pull them out of a crammed closet.
If you have a large closet but not much square footage in the bedroom, hang up as much of your clothes as possible. You may be able to downsize to a smaller dresser that will take up much less floor space. You could also invest in a closet organizer that may help you eliminate the need for a dresser altogether. If neither of these solutions works for you, consider putting the dresser inside the closet to free up bedroom real estate.
Condense your library
Recipe books are another space gobbler, especially if you aren't using them regularly. Take time over the winter to pen your favourite recipes from lesser-used books onto recipe cards and store them in inexpensive four-by-six pocket- sized photo albums. Donate the books to charity or sell them in a yard sale. This is one project I plan to do in the near future. With recipes available online now, the need to have tons of cookbooks has vanished. If you're a techie, you can keep your favourite recipes on your computer.
These are just a few ideas to get your started. Check out the Internet for more great downsizing and de-cluttering ideas. There are lots of websites out there that can offer great suggestions for most any situation.
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